Ten Years Prior
by ByakBlade
Summary: Before the formation of Coulson's team, agent Phil Coulson was assigned the task of being a supervising agent to a young cadet, Melinda May. Stubborn, headstrong and sure of her abilities, May was not ready to take orders from someone like Coulson. The beginning of Coulson and May' s partnership told through their eyes.
1. So here we start

**Hello, ByakBlade here. I'm relatively new to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D fanfictions but I love the show and have been a HUGE fan of Marvel Comic books for years. Let's just say I fell in love with two outcasts of society and badass agents. :3 just a fair warning this is NOT a fluffy fic, if you are squeamish of the tough job that May and Coulson have please go read something else.**

Melinda shifted her weight uncomfortably as the hot sun burned the back of her neck. Wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, she continued to watch for any movement in front of the abandoned warehouse that she had been staring at for the past half hour. This was not how she thought she'd be spending her first real mission in the field, squatting underneath an overgrown shrub, waiting to spring a drug circle hiding in Arizona.

_"You see anything yet, Melinda?" _Said the voice of her partner through he static of her intercom.

"Nothing yet and it's May, Coulson." Melinda growled to the man a crossed the intercoms. There was a silence and she could just imagine Coulson smiling amused while perched up on one of the deteriorating buildings. Of all the supervising agent she could of received Melinda had to get Coulson, albeit he was the perfect, by the book agent but his attitude was more than annoying at times. He treated her like a child just learning to walk instead of a master spy in-training, and it was _infuriating. _While she was just a cadet, Melinda couldn't help but feel like he watched her progress in a condensing, scrutinizing every flaw way.

Suddenly a rustling came from behind Melinda and she stiffened, fighting the urge to turn around and expose her position. Loud footsteps approached and she gritted her teeth, pressing her knuckles into the dry, dusty soil. The crunching of twigs and gravel grew closer and Melinda could see a dark pair of combat boots pass by her left through squinted eyes. Their owner continued to wonder amiably, blissfully unaware of the young agent lying in wait.

Once the stranger was a safe distance away Melinda raised her head to observe her soon to be opponent. He was a stout, strong-looking man in his late twenties with his hair shaved near the scalp. The guard swung the rifle in his hand with a carefree attitude showing he wasn't taking his job seriously. Steeling her nerves, Melinda judged she could take the guard on her own with out any assistance from Coulson. She shot upward and launched herself at the man, clamping her hand on his wrist, jerking it behind his back. The guard let out a strangled cry and slammed his elbow into her chest. Dropping his gun he swung his freehand and collided his palm into her nose. Slick warmth spread from her nostril and salty tasting blood trickled down to her lip. She aimed a kick to his shin, overbalancing him before throwing her weight against his side, pushing him to the ground. Swinging her right foot over his chest Melinda pressed the heel of her shoe against his throat, stopping his struggling. A drop of russet fell from her noise and splattered against his cheek.

"Good job Melinda," came a voice and she turned her head to see Coulson bounding over to her, looking very out of place in his suit and tie. Despite his praise there was something brewing behind the older agent's eyes and Melinda knew she's receive a scolding for acting without orders later.

"_May_." She hissed back to her partner before pressing more of her weight on the struggling captive. The man made a gurgling, choking noise as his oppressor threaten to collapse his windpipe, his eyes bulging with terror. "Do you think he knows anything about Harrison?"

Coulson shrugged and knelt down besides the man. "One way to find out and you have something here," he said tapping just bellow his nose. Melinda instinctively pressed the fabric of her sleeve to her nose in attempt to staunch the blood flow, for the first time feeling the pulsing pain of the injury. "Alright, I'm going to make this quite clear," Coulson said to the man lying on the floor in obvious agony. "Tell me that you are or are not working with a man named Harrison in selling the illegal drug X-17. If for any reason I think you're lying to me I'll give my partner the okay to crush your esophagus." As if receiving an unspoken queue from her partner, Melinda lessened the pressure on the man's throat, allowing him to speak.

For a few moments the guard did not respond but coughed, sending droplets of spit onto Melinda's shoe. After the hacking subsided he gingerly shook his head. "I don't know anything." Raising an eyebrow skeptically, Coulson turned to look at his partner, who lifted her foot back over the man's throat, enjoying the look of terror in his eyes. "I swear I don't know! They just have me deliver boxes from this place, I don't know what's in them or who Harrison is."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Shrugging, Coulson stood up and brushed some dust off his slacks.

"Maybe, but we'd better take him back to the Hub for questioning just to be safe."

_Unknown location, S.H.I.E.L.D base "The Hub"._

The guard, whose name turned out to be David, had been dropped off in a containment cell and was currently awaiting a trial; at least that's what Melinda was told. She had been taken strait to the infirmary pod when their plane had landed in the Hub. Now with two strips of medical tape plastered to her already bruising nose and a melting ice pack into her hand she sat from a very pissed looking Coulson.

"Would you like to tell me exactly what you were thinking?" Coulson demanded while pacing around in the already small cell. "You took on an _armed _hostile without notifying me, did you think of the possible consequences?"

Melinda narrowed her eyes and pressed the ice pack to her nose, feeling the slick contestation form against her skin. "I was thinking that the training academy taught me to defend myself and not depend on a babysitter to save me."

"May I remind you that I am, in fact your supervising officer and in charge of your cadet training, and I don't think explaining to director Fury that I accidentally caused my protégée to be shot and killed would be a good thing. This is your first time out in the field, and it's a hell a lot different then whatever you did in training. Out here you can get killed if you're not careful."

Clenching her jaw, Melinda turned away from the older agent and started out the glass window and into the infirmary hall. She knew she had been reckless but she refused to give Coulson any satisfaction. Ever since she had been assigned to him, it was a constant clash of wills. Coulson sighed and leaned against the metal bench she sat on, she could feel the material bend slightly upward against his weight. "Melinda I know you are not happy with me being your S.O but we are stuck with each other, you might as well make this as bearable as possible." He said look up at her face that was still focused outside the cell. His partner remained silently, Coulson sighed and headed to the door.

"Alright, I'll try." Came the near-inaudible response as he left the room.


	2. Reprocussions

"Would you like to tell me what _exactly _you were thinking?" A woman in front of May demanded, leaning across the desk that separated them from each other. May shifted uncomfortably on the metal chair on which she was sitting, she wasn't particularly afraid of Victoria Hand, but her excessive yelling was not enjoyable.

"I'm sure Coulson has already told you what happened." May responded as calmly as she could, resisting the urge to smack the older woman. She was worse than Coulson, parading her level six status like some damned badge of honor.

Hand shook her head and cupped her forehead in the palms of her hands. "God, I thought Romanoff was hard to work with, at least _she_ got the job done."

"After she blew a few men's balls off." May quipped at the mention of the famous Russian assassin, Hand let out an annoyed growl in response.

"Melinda May you are _nineteen _years old, I don't care if that makes you a legal citizen, you are just a cadet," the head agent began, leaning against the table again reminding May of a hawk staring down it's prey. "A cadet who has no respect for protocols and rules, when you were assigned Agent Coulson as your superior officer you _agreed _that you would not participate directly in a mission until he deemed you responsible enough. And you went along and broke that agreement along with no less than _six_ protocols endangering your young life and the mission, do you have anything to say?"

May parted her lips to speak but promptly stopping when she realized she had nothing to say and instead just crossed her arms and stared at Hand. "If it were up to me, I would have you sent back strait to the academy," Hand continued not noticing May's discomfort. "But it seems that Coulson has made an appeal to director Fury that he is, in fact your S.O and he should decide your punishment not me."

Coulson was fighting for her? That was new.

"Don't get me wrong May, I will have your ass kicked out of S.H.I.E.L.D if you try an other stunt like that. Now get the hell out of my sight I've got Barton coming in ten minutes for 'accidentally' detonating a bomb in Peru." Hand concluded with a wave of her wrist, dismissing her. May nodded and stood up, eager to get out of the head agent's office. Quickly heading to the door, May subconsciously her still slightly swollen nose, realizing how ridiculous she must look.

Reaching forward she grabbed the door handle and entered the bustling hallway of the Hub. Agents of a multitude of different statuses, ages and professions milled around in the glass and steel hallway. A particular man caught her eyes as her gazed swept over the crowds; he wore his traditional garb of a business suit and tie but he was leaning against a wall his eyes closed and arms crossed as if he was trying to sleep. And knowing Coulson that was exactly what he was trying to do. May let out an exasperated sigh and walked over to her mentor to share the news.

When she was five feet away from the man he lazily opened one of his eyes as if he had know she was coming. "How'd it go?"

"She's pissed." May said bluntly while leaning against the wall, mimicking Coulson causing him to raise an eyebrow amused.

"Makes sense, I had to call Fury for her not to kick you out of S.H. .D."

"I know Hand brought that up." May said quietly while looking away from him, feeling a small trill of guilt grow in her stomach. "And thanks for that," she added softly.

"You're welcome, but if you have anymore slipups I might not be able to help." Coulson said looking at his protégée who nodded slightly. "If it's any condolence, I believe you have the makings of a very good agent if-"

"If I followed the rules?" May interrupted dryly, pausing slightly to fidget with a loose piece of medical tape on her nose. "You know I don't work very well in this 'code' you guys have written for yourselves."

Coulson frowned slightly, partly to be interrupted but also something else. "That's not what I was about to say Melinda." He spoke in the voice that May recognized when he was about to give a lecture. "I was going to say that you could be exceptional if you learn to listen. Listening is not the same as following the rules, they're could be a time that someone's life is at stake but rescuing them could jeopardize a mission or break protocol. I just want you to be prepared to make those decisions." May stayed silent, feeling the tendril of guilt in her stomach began to grow but she tried to will it away. "But seeing you are a liability I am forced to take some precautions." Coulson continued before and took out a small black box from his jacket pocket. He opened it and gently pulled out a slim metal bracelet "This bracelet contains a small tracking device that will keep tabs of your position at all times incase you try anything."

"So I'll be stalked?" May asked dully, looking skeptically at the device in his hand.

"For lack of a better word, yes." Coulson confirmed before holding out his empty hand palm up. "Give your hand Melinda." He said, his voice hitching with a slight awkwardness. May looked up at her mentor, tempted to say no, but she realized if she'd refuse she would risk explosion from S.H.I.E.L.D and obediently place her hand in his, feeling her neck warm with embarrassment. Coulson quickly snapped the metal ring around her wrist before dropping her hand like it was infected with the plaque. "I'm sorry Melinda but it was the only way I could reason with Hand." He apologized when he saw her face grimace with obvious disdain at the bracelet. But May had already turned around and was stalking away from him.

_Later that night_

May turned uncofortably in her bed, the streetlights shining from from outside her apparment window made it near imposible to sleep. Every way she turned she couldn't seem to escape the harsh synthtic lights. Groaning she sat up, causing the cheap bed's springs to squeak as did so. May hated trying to sleep in this damned place, hell she hated almost everything about this Godforsaken agency, she didn't even _want _to be here let alone take the punisments. She tugged at the metal on her wrist in an explosion of anger and the desperet need to be free from its confineds. She didn't care that her mother was a sucsessful and well-known agent or that she was a third generation field oprative. Anyone who said that made her some sort of prodigy was full of horseshit. She was only nineteen. _Nineteen. _She should be spending her time looking for collages and jobs not learning how to kill people and deaing with a thirty year-old man who treated her like a child.

Not knowing what else to do, May sat at the edge of her bed and craddled her head in frustration. From the amount of trouble she was getting into, May couldn't help but question the fact that she even had a future here at all. Coulson had warned her that Insomia was an unforunate side-affect of their job but he never mentioned it was this annoying.

Coulson sugarcoated things a lot.

Letting herself fall back on the bed, May tossed her blanket over her head, trying to block out the light and currled up under the dark, warm fabric and tried to sleep.


End file.
